Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series – where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology.

In today’s episode, Chris and Dr. Abbie explore the intriguing phenomena of dreams, the placebo effect, and déjà vu. They delve into the mysteries of why dreams can feel more emotionally intense than reality, how belief can trigger real physiological changes, and the perplexing sensation of déjà vu that leaves us questioning our memories. Through engaging discussions, they uncover what science knows and the many questions that remain unanswered about these fascinating topics. [Oct 6, 2025]

00:00 - Intro

00:54 - Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro

01:14 - Intro Links

- Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/

- Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/

- Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/

- Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/

- Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb

- CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/

- innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/

03:17 - The Topic of the Day: Dreams, Placebo and Deja Vu

04:11 - Why Do We Dream?

07:01 - Information Integration

09:36 - Second-Hand Emotion

11:41 - What We Don't Know

14:28 - Uploading Your Dreams

17:26 - The Placebo Effect

22:57 - Context Dependent

26:09 - Non-Responders

28:21 - Deja Vu

30:01 - The Smell Trigger

31:31 - The Emotional Aspect

34:43 - What's Your Sign?

35:44 - Wrap Up

35:59 - Next Month: Ambition

36:34 - Outro

- www.social-engineer.com

- www.innocentlivesfoundation.org

Find us online:

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd

- Instagram: @DoctorAbbieofficial

- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy

References:

Barrett, D. (2001). The committee of sleep: How artists, scientists, and athletes use dreams for creative problem solving—and how you can too. Oneiroi Press.

de la Fuente-Fernández, R., Ruth, T. J., Sossi, V., Schulzer, M., Calne, D. B., & Stoessl, A. J. (2001). Expectation and dopamine release: Mechanism of the placebo effect in Parkinson's disease. Science, 293(5532), 1164–1166. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1060937

Hobson, J. A. (2009). REM sleep and dreaming: Towards a theory of protoconsciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(11), 803–813. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2716

Hobson, J. A., & McCarley, R. W. (1977). The brain as a dream state generator: An activation-synthesis hypothesis of the dream process. Cognitive Psychology, 5(4), 448–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(77)90005-9

Platek, S. M., Critton, S. R., Myers, T. E., & Gallup, G. G. (2003). Contagious yawning: The role of self-awareness and mental state attribution. Cognitive Brain Research, 17(2), 223–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0926-6410(03)00109-5

Revonsuo, A. (2000). The reinterpretation of dreams: An evolutionary hypothesis of the function of dreaming. Consciousness and Cognition, 9(2), 210–218. https://doi.org/10.1006/ccog.2000.0422

Stickgold, R., & Walker, M. P. (2013). Sleep-dependent memory triage: Evolving generalization through selective processing. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(10), 501–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2013.06.003

Voss, U., Holzmann, R., Tuin, I., & Hobson, J. A. (2009). Lucid dreaming: A state of consciousness with features of both waking and non-lucid dreaming. Sleep, 32(9), 1191–1200. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/32.9.1191

Wager, T. D., Scott, D. J., & Zubieta, J.-K. (2007). Placebo effects on human μ-opioid activity during pain. NeuroImage, 35(1), 253–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.11.026